Chương 60: Already Stolen

The World Tree fruit glowed softly between Dust's jaws. They were in the middle of the village boundary. On one side, the orc chieftain stood with his club on his shoulder; on the other, the elf elders stood frozen, their staves planted. Muddy water pooled between the broken stone markers, and on the tree railings above, elf children hid behind adults, looking down at the fruit. It was strange to call it a fruit. Inside the green skin, patterns like water drop marks overlapped.

Every time the forest light touched the fruit's surface, the elves' faces grew pale along with it. Kichan held out his hand.

"Drop it." Dust flicked a leg. No.

"Drop it." This time it flicked slower. An even firmer no. Kichan gritted his teeth. He was in a situation where he had to wager against the orc chieftain, and an object that might be an elf village sacred item or a fruit or who knew what was still in Dust's mouth.

"Why are you like this?" Strangely, the water drop did not block Dust. Instead, it trembled before the fruit. It was impossible to tell whether it was frightened or glad. Each time its small body drew close to the fruit's surface, the water-light patterns inside the fruit brightened a little more. As that light shone, the leaf patterns carved into the elders' staves faintly followed, brightening as well. The elder could not catch his breath.

"That fruit is…" The words did not finish. The orc chieftain saw the elves' reaction and finished his calculation immediately. His yellow eyes swept between the fruit and the elders' hands. He pointed at the fruit and struck the ground with his club. Riphiel translated.

"The chieftain says if he wins, he wants the fruit."

"If he loses, he can't take it."

"We haven't even started yet."

"Then let's hurry." Kichan's hand stopped in front of Dust.

"Put it down first." Dust flicked a leg again. Kichan wiped his face with his hand. Dirt and water smeared on his palm. Seeing that made him more annoyed. Riphiel said.

"Perhaps Sir Dust is claiming that it was not stolen, but picked up." Kichan's head turned toward Riphiel. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"You understand Dust's speech?"

"Its expression says so."

"It doesn't have expressions."

"Which means it has nothing to hide." Several elves nearby almost laughed. The corners of their lips went up, then immediately fell at the elders' glances. The elders did not laugh. The orc chieftain bared his teeth, watching the elves' tension and Kichan's irritation in turn. Kichan's fingertips stopped in front of the fruit. It was closer to a material that compressed a living forest into a ball than an edible fruit.

"It does look expensive." The elf elders' hands simultaneously gripped their staves harder. Riphiel said hastily.

"It would be good to interpret that as acknowledging the forest's value." Kichan said immediately.

"It doesn't."

"Why do you get to decide what I mean?"

"It's necessary right now." Kichan grew more tired. The orcs still stood at the village boundary. Above the shield rims, yellow eyes watched the fruit. The elves' gazes were also fixed on the fruit, not the orcs. The orcs did not lower their shields. The water drop trembled before the fruit, Dust would not let go, and the elder gripped his staff tightly. Kichan eventually raised his wake-up rod and planted it in the ground.

"Order." Everyone looked at him.

"First, the wager. The big one." Kichan pointed at the orc chieftain.

"Then the fruit." The elder opened his mouth.

"Calling the World Tree's fruit a fruit is—""You can eat it, can't you?" The elder was briefly blocked. Riphiel said very quietly.

"It can be eaten, but ordinarily it is not used for that purpose—""Then it is a fruit." Kichan cut him off and lifted his chin toward the orc chieftain. The orc chieftain was laughing. Breath leaked between his large fangs. The wager's stakes had grown, and his opponent was annoyed but not running. For an orc, it was a good situation. The chieftain lifted his club onto his shoulder. Riphiel said.

"The orc way has a wager where each side endures one hit. Whoever takes the first hit and endures, then strikes, and the one who cannot endure loses." Kichan turned his body toward the chieftain.

"One hit each?" Riphiel translated toward the orcs. The orc chieftain laughed loudly. The elf elder immediately tried to stop it.

"That is dangerous. That chieftain—" Kichan's head turned toward the elder.

"If this drags out, it becomes another meeting." The elder closed his mouth again. Kichan held out his hand toward Dust.

"The fruit." Dust resisted briefly, but when the water drop went pop in front of it, it finally set the fruit down. Not on Kichan's palm, exactly — it set it down beside Kichan's foot and backed away one step. Kichan picked up the fruit and placed it in front of the water drop.

"You guard it. Don't let it bite it." The water drop spread like a shield before the fruit. A small water film. Dust looked at that and flicked a leg. Kichan said.

"Swallow your complaints too." Riphiel's eyes went round.

"Your method of managing your party is very direct."

"You want to be managed too?" Riphiel immediately shut her mouth. Kichan walked toward the orc chieftain. The orcs formed a circle. The elves withdrew beyond the boundary, bows still aimed. The children on the tree railings hid behind adults. In the center, only Kichan, the orc chieftain, the World Tree fruit placed on wet earth, and the forest's tension watching both remained. The orc chieftain raised his club. The ground gave a low rumble. Kichan rolled his shoulder once.

He hadn't planned on getting hit earlier, but the board had ended up that way. Still, it was better than dragging things out. Without looking at Riphiel, he said.

"Hurry and end it." Riphiel asked.

"To whom were you speaking?"

"To myself." The orc chieftain struck first. The club fell over Kichan's shoulder. Dust flinched, and the water drop rose like a shield before the fruit. Kichan did not budge a single step. The heavy sound spread across the village boundary. The orc chieftain's laughter vanished. Kichan rolled his shoulder once.

"Done?"